Jason Segel Gets The Giggles In New This Is 40 Featurette

Though Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann are the main focus of This is 40, which writer-director Judd Apatow is calling a sort-of sequel to Knocked Up, one more character from that movie will be making a return appearance. From what we know there's no sign of his old roommate Ben, played by Seth Rogen, but Jason Segel's character "Jason" will be returning, once again hitting on Leslie Mann's Debbie, though this time in "official" capacities as a personal trainer.

Apatow has been working with Segel since Freaks and Geeks more than a decade ago, so as you can imagine, things get punchy and a little ridiculous on set, especially when Apatow suggests even more insane lines of dialogue. You can watch all the giggling in the new featurette below.

This is 40 remains one of the more low-key players in this year's awards season, but while people focus on Les Miserables and Zero Dark Thirty and other heavy stuff, it could emerge as a serious crowd pleaser, and maybe even a Knocked Up-sized hit with a slightly more mature soul. Based on early reviews Apatow, telling a highly autobiographical story, seems to nail all the insecurities and weirdness of a long-term marriage between two people reaching middle age. What I'm still wondering, though, is if the movie is as impactful when you're nowhere near 40, and can't spend the entire movie nodding your head and saying "yeah, I've been there."

We'll learn for ourselves when This is 40 opens December 21. Are you as intrigued by it as I am?